FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part One:

The sleek black sports car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel, the sunlight reflected off the tinted windows suddenly cut off by the shade of the awning. It's low, clean hum turned to a whisper as men who were little older than boys rushed around it to collect baggage from the trunk. Sebastian climbed out of the driver's seat, unaccompanied, and grabbed the midnight blue backpack from the otherwise empty passenger seat before he had to negotiate it from eager hands. He trusted the boys to take his things where they needed to go, and felt one malevolent glare was enough to dissuade any thoughts of thievery. He slung his pack over his shoulder and walked through the sliding doors with purpose, an air of authority emanating from him.

He strolled up to the counter and slid an id across to the receptionist, wordlessly confirming a penthouse reservation made only just as he got off the plane. It was fortunate that he looked years older, because it helped his fake alias. Here, he was 22-year-old Cain Kendril, son to the top CEO of one of the leading corporations of science. Typically, he expected people think of him as some rich boy who lived off his daddy's pockets. Such scorn meant nothing to him, because an Egyptian prince was above silly American judgment. He and America had little to do with each other, their only ties being a brother in the government.

The receptionist ran the information through, then handed him a digital key with its room number along with his card, and sent him on his way. The man was intimidated by the jackal half-breed, he noticed. Good. Sebastian wanted nothing to do with calling out his royal heritage, or else the man would probably kiss his feet and put everything on his own paycheck. Sebastian thanked the squirrel behind the desk and went on his way, watching the sleek black elevator door close before him. Meanwhile, a far different kind of man had come to the hotel.

The Ferrari pulled in as the other sports car pulled away, the snow leopard sighing as he climbed out. Pulling his backpack out with his lion tail, he asked the valets to be careful with the baggage. He walked in calmly, with his bag now in slung over his shoulders, and told the cute little squirrel at the desk he had a reservation for one of the smaller suites, hoping to spend his spring break a little luxuriously. When the squirrel asked for some identification, Dante handed it to him and discreetly checked him out as he pulled up the information. The snow leopard shifted his eyes to the squirrel's hands as they gave him back the cards. Dante ran the brush of his tail along his cheek flirtatiously as he walked away to the black elevator.

The jackal stalked out of the elevator when it pinged to the two-hundred-and-fifty-first floor and walked the ten feet down of the bare linear corridor to his suite. He slid the key in and walked into the pristine room. Taking a clockwise turn from his left, he noted the living room, entirely white with black furniture and an entire wall devoted to a city view, then the kitchen, fully stocked with fresh ingredients and a box of recipe cards on the counter, and finally the bathroom and his room. He walked into his room where he found all his bags lying neatly in a row, waiting to be opened. Sebastian opened the darkest gray duffel bag, pulled out a complete change of clothes, and laid them on his bed before he began unbuttoning for a shower.

The snow leopard stepped lightly out of the elevator on the two-hundred-and-forty-ninth floor. He looked at his key card and matched its number with the third door on his right. He walked in silently as he took it all in. First he saw the wide living room, and branching from it were the empty-but-fully-furnished kitchen and a small hallway that held a bathroom, linen closet, and a large bedroom. He put his purse down on the corner of the bed and flopped down into it, ready to enjoy his weekend. He had begun to doze off in a daydream until his phone had buzzed in his pocket.

Sebastian stepped out of the shower uncovered, feeling that he had as much privacy as he'd be getting. He dried off and dressed again, leaving his blue flannel shirt and black jeans for a form-fitting black tee that flattered his torso and semi-tight blue jeans. He put his black high-top sneakers back on over rainbow toe socks and went into the kitchen. Throwing together a turkey sandwich, Sebastian sat down by himself at the table and ate, thinking about what he'd do on his first day.

Dante grunted a bit as he pulled out his purple smart phone. JACE blinked across the screen. Dante smiled as he unlocked his phone to read his boyfriend's text. 'Hi hun...' it began, and Dante's grin wavered. 'I know we're happy and all, but...' Dante's smile had vanished completely as he found too many trailing sentences for his liking. 'I don't think I can stay with you forever. The love we found when we met isn't here now, and I want to go look for someone who can give it back to me and keep it there. I don't want to hurt you, but I think we should see other people.' Dante thought about fighting to keep Jace, but knew the man too well. No amount of pleading could sway him. Dante's hands fell to the bed, going slack, his phone dropping to the carpet as tears ran to the pillows.

Sebastian filled the dresser with his clothes and finished unpacking the rest of his gear before remembering he'd forgotten one vital thing. A swimsuit. The head of his school's swim team can't go on vacation and get flabby. Sebastian groaned to himself as he stood up. He put the glass plate of his half-eaten sandwich on the counter top, grabbed his keys from the key hook a room-servant left them on, and went back into the elevator, locking his suite behind him. He stood around for a minute, waiting for the elevator to finally get to his floor. He'd begun counting the windows of the building across the street, clearly seen through the hall window next to him.

He stepped into the steel black box and pressed the button labeled L, for Lobby. He started swaying with the music that blared through his head phones. Finally, the digital numbers of the floor flashed green with an L, and he stepped out as the doors slid open. The squirrel at the front desk glanced at him briefly as he helped another vacationer with directions, but Sebastian ignored him as he walked back out of the hotel. Prompted by a call made previously, his car slowed to a halt before him as he stepped off the sidewalk.

Dante woke up on a damp pillow to the ding of the rising elevator ringing through the previously silent hall. He rubbed his eyes and blinked away the bleariness of drying tears, the midday sun shining through his window. He slid off his bed and jumped in surprise as his foot vibrated on the carpet. He looked down at the floor and picked up his phone. JACE lit up on the screen again. 'Dante...?' it read. The message had been sent twenty minutes ago.

A moment of anger passed through Dante. If the love between them was lacking, he should have said something instead of gone straight to a break up. If he'd said something, Dante could have fixed it. Dante could have made him happy. Dante could have...failed... The anger passed when the snow leopard realized that Jace was right. The apparent connections they'd made as strangers at a college party weren't strong anymore. Dante saw the look in Jace's eyes for certain boys in class, and thought maybe some of them had returned such looks. He had to admit that he'd passed similar gazes as well, but tried to deny them. He'd ignored the truth for so long, hoping Jace was perfect for him, that it was hardest to accept now that it was in front of him.

'Sorry, fell asleep. Long day.' Dante replied. 'I want to talk about this in person. I know you're right, but I'd like to end this properly. How about dinner at the Riveria? It's near the hotel I'm staying at. 6:00, on me.' He sent the message and wiped the last tears from his lashes, like dew from grass. His phone said it was 5:15. Just enough time to shower and get to the café, maybe even buy a few new clothes. A department store was just across the street; he might go there first. Dante grabbed his wallet from the counter, fixed his hair as he passed a mirror on the wall, and left, locking his door behind him. He walked out to see that the elevator was on the floor above, so he dove at the down button. It opened for him, and inside he found an unhappy--and, Dante thought, attractive--jackal standing at the back.

The jackal regarded him apathetically, in a rather bored way, but not after a swift look-over of Dante. He then continued his conversation on the phone. "...in front of the lobby in two minutes," Dante heard. Sebastian hung up the phone, a bit rudely in Dante's opinion. He looked back at the snow leopard. "Are you coming in, or do you ring up elevators for the fun of standing in the doorway?" He asked. Dante was slightly taken aback and blushed at his thoughtlessness. "Sorry," he said as he stepped in. They'd passed little more than one hundred floors when the silence that filled the box became unnerving to him. Dante turned around and faced the jackal.

He'd fallen asleep. Dante couldn't help but stare over his body, eying the curves and ridges of his shirt, how his jeans cupped his legs slightly. Dante guessed he was at least eighteen, but no more than twenty three. 'At least he's not jail bait,' he thought to himself, unsure about boys any more than a year older or younger than him. The silence came back to him, and he cleared his throat. Bringing a blue-white, black-spotted paw up, he introduced himself. To the sleeping jackal he said "Hi, my name's Dante. I'm here for spring break. How about you?" The jackal opened his eyes, but leaving them half-lidded. Lazily, and arrogantly, he brought a burgundy, black-padded paw to meet Dante's.

"I'm Sebastian," he said in a slight accent. "I'm up in the top suite, avoiding my parents." The elevator passed the one-hundredth floor. Dante looked at him inquisitively. "So must be pretty young then, huh? And how can a kid like you afford the top suite without your parents? That's gotta be like seven-hundred dollars a night." Sebastian smirked slightly. It must have taken this snow leopard his life savings to afford the minor suite he's in now. "I'm eighteen. And if you must know," he said before scanning the box for microphones. He couldn't find any, but he leaned in close to the leopard anyway. Involuntarily, Dante inhaled his scent. He liked it, but didn't say anything. "If you must know, I'm the heir to the Egyptian throne. Wealth comes naturally to me." He pulled away from the leopard and sat against the wall again. "If my money comes to you as a surprise, how can you afford even the minor suite you're staying in?"

Dante stared at him confidently, proud of himself. "I'd worked for it. Unlike you, money is not something my family attains so easily. We have to earn it, unlike you, who practically gets paid for being alive." The elevator opened into the lobby and Dante stepped out. "Au revoir, Sebastian," he said before he waved flirtatiously at the squirrel at the desk. He asked for his car to be rung up as Sebastian walked passed him, that bored look back on his face. So much arrogance astounded the snow leopard. He turned slightly to get a view of the prince's rear as he passed through the front doors, a lustrous black car awaiting him.